August 2003

Men's Basketball

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Pope, Smith Added as Assistant Coaches
Saturday, August 2 2003

Youngstown -- Youngstown State Men's Basketball Coach John Robic announced on Wednesday that Bill Pope and Winston Smith have joined his staff as assistant coaches.
Pope spent the past six seasons as the head coach at NCAA Division II Lincoln (Mo.) University while Smith was an assistant at Fairleigh Dickinson the past two seasons.
Robic has previous ties to both new members of his staff. Smith played at UMass during Robic's final three seasons as an assistant with the program while Pope was a manager on Kansas' 1988 National Championship when Robic was a graduate assistant.
"I am very happy to have Bill and Winston join my staff," Robic said. "I have known Bill since I was at Kansas and I coached Winston at UMass and look forward to continuing my relationships with both of them."
Pope, a native of Kansas City, Kan., led the Blue Tigers to a 13-13 record last season, marking the third consecutive year Lincoln had finished .500 or above. In 2002-03, his squad ranked in the top two in the conference in blocked shots, steals, total rebounds, offensive rebounds, fewest points allowed and defensive field-goal percentage.
During his tenure at the Jefferson City, Mo., school, he had nine all-conference selections, two all-region performers, an All-American, a conference newcomer of the year and a conference player of the year (Kenny Dye in 2001-02). In 2000-01, his team shared the Heartland Conference Championship posting a 20-7 overall record and a 9-3 league mark. That season, he was named the Conference Coach of the Year. In 2001-02, the Blue Tigers went 14-12.
He also served as an Assistant Athletic Director and Compliance Coordinator the past four years.
Smith, a native of Summit, N.J., was an assistant at Fairleigh Dickinson the past two seasons. For the Knights, his main duties included overall management of the program, assisting in film exchange and camps and clinics. In his second season last year, Fairleigh Dickinson improved its record by 11 games from the 2001-02 campaign.
Prior to becoming an assistant at FDU, he was a four-year letterwinner for the Minutemen and was part of John Calipari's final recruiting class in 1996. He spent five years with the program, earning a medical redshirt his second season. Smith was part of two NCAA Tournament teams (1998 and 1999) and one NIT participant (2000). As a senior, he was a team captain while starting 26 contests for the Minutemen in 2000-01. He earned his degree in Sociology from UMass in 2001.

Men's Basketball

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Penguins Sign Georgia Standout Humphrey
Saturday, August 2 2003

Youngstown -- Youngstown State men's basketball coach John Robic announced on Monday that the Penguins have signed 6-foot-2 guard Quin Humphrey from Stockbridge High School in Atlanta, Ga., to a national letter of intent.
Humphrey averaged 26.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, five assists and 2.5 steals per game as senior and led Stockbridge to its first playoff appearance since 1993 this past season. In the first round of the 5A playoffs, Humphrey scored 30 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had four assists in a 60-56 win over Coffee High School. Stockbridge finished the year 20-10 overall losing to Savannah High School 48-43 in the 5A Georgia Sweet 16.
Humphrey was a first-team all-region and all-conference selection for Stockbridge, which was named the Metro Atlanta Prep Team of the Year. Prep Stars Magazine tabbed Humphrey as the No. 8 senior in the state while he earned third-team all-state honors.
During his junior season, he was also named third-team all-state and is a three-time Henry County Player of the Year.
Humphrey becomes the second player from the Atlanta area to sign with the Penguins this year. In November, Youngstown State inked point guard Michael Woodard out of Fairburn, Ga.
Humphrey's signing brings YSU's list of men's basketball signees to five. He joins Woodard, forward Craig Anderson of Mt. Prospect, Ill., forward John Barber of Renaissance High School in Detroit, Mich., and forward Dwight Holmes from Reynoldsburg, Ohio, who have previously signed with the Penguins.

Men's Basketball

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Underwood, Baumann Named Co-MVPs
Saturday, August 2 2003

Youngstown -- The Youngstown State men's basketball team honored junior Adam Baumann and sophomore Doug Underwood as their 2002-03 co-Most Valuable Players at the team's annual awards banquet on Sunday at the Chestnut Room in the Kilcawley Center.
Underwood averaged a team best 14.7 points per game while Baumann led the team in rebounds per game at 7.7. Underwood picked up the team's Jeff Covington Award as the top scorer and tied with Baumann for the free-throw percentage award. Baumann was named the Leo Mogus Leading Rebounder and was the Four Square Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Senior captain Marlon Williamson picked up the Assists Leader Award with a total of 144 assists on the year. Williamson also set the school single-season record with 64 assists and led the Horizon League averaging 2.2 steals per game.
Junior TeJay Anderson was named the Most Productive Player averaging 8.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Sophomore Khari McQueen earned the Penguin Club Most Improved Player Award for his efforts during the season.
YSU's freshmen trio of Jonathan Mends, Derrick Harris and Andy Jahnke all earned awards. Mends was honored with the Tony Vivo Hustle Award, Harris earned the Bill Dailey Leadership Award and Jahnke picked up the Coach's Award.
Williamson was the lone individual to earn a fourth-year award. Baumann, Jamel Porter, Bill Mallernee and Anderson earned third-year awards while Underwood, Radakovich and McQueen earned second-year awards. Earning first-year letters were Jahnke, Mends and Harris.

Individual Awards
Dom Rosselli MVP Award: Doug Underwood and Adam Baumann
Four Square Club Scholar Athlete: Adam Baumann
Bill Dailey Leadership Award: Derrick Harris
Jeff Covington Leading Scorer: Doug Underwood
Leo Mogus Leading Rebounder: Adam Baumann
Free-Throw Percentage Award: Doug Underwood and Adam Baumann
Assists Leader: Marlon Williamson
Penguin Club Most Improved Player Award: Khari McQueen
Most Productive Player Award: TeJay Anderson
Tony Vivo Hustle Award: Jonathan Mends
Coach's Award: Andy Jahnke

Men's Basketball

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Dwight Holmes Signs Letter to Play at YSU
Saturday, August 2 2003

Youngstown -- Youngstown State men's basketball coach John Robic announced on Thursday that Dwight Holmes, a 6-foot-6 forward from Reynoldsburg, Ohio, has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his basketball career at YSU.
Holmes, who attends Reynoldsburg High School averaged 17.5 points and nine rebounds per game as a senior for coach Chris Rider. He was named to the PrepSpotlight.com second-team Division I All-Ohio Team following the 2002-03 campaign. He is ranked as the 21st-best senior in the state and the fifth-best wing forward by PrepSpotlight.com.
He scored 13 points in District 10 High School Boys All-Star Game on the Ohio Capital Conference's squad earlier this month. He also played in the Ohio/Kentucky High School All-Star Game, which was held in Crestview Hills, Ky.
As a junior, he attended Stebbins High School in Dayton where he averaged 22.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game while earning third-team All-Southwest Ohio accolades.
Holmes brings YSU's list of men's basketball signees to four. He joins point guard Mike Woodard of Fairburn, Ga., forward Craig Anderson of Mt. Prospect, Ill., and forward John Barber of Renaissance High School in Detroit, Mich.

Men's Basketball

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Penguins Eliminated By Flames, 79-59
Saturday, August 2 2003

Milwaukee, Wis. -- The Illinois-Chicago Flames shot 50 percent from the field and put four players in double figures to eliminate the Youngstown State men's basketball team, 79-59, in the quarterfinals of the 2003 Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship on Friday evening at U.S. Cellular Arena.
Youngstown State ends the season with an overall record of 9-20, while the Flames improve to 21-7 and face No. 2-seeded UW-Milwaukee, Saturday, at 8:30 p.m. (EST).
The Flames jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead but the Penguins rallied to tie the game, 12-12, at the 14:10 mark of the first half.
From that point, UIC scored 17 straight points to take a 29-12 lead with 7:38 remaining. Cedric Banks, who paced the Flames with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, ignited UIC with seven points during the run.
After buckets by Derrick Harris and Khari McQueen cut the UIC advantage to 15 points, 31-16, the Flames scored seven straight points to cushion their lead to 21 points, 38-21.
Youngstown State, which shot just 34.6 percent in the first half and 51.7 percent after halftime, was led by sophomore Doug Underwood's game-high 20 points. Underwood connected on 9-of-20 from the floor, including two 3-pointers. Junior Adam Baumann also reached double figures with 13 points on 5-of-6 from the field.
Besides Banks reaching double figures for UIC, Armond Williams and Aaron Carr each posted 13 points and Jon Schneiderman added 11 points, including three 3-pointers.

Men's Basketball

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YSU Moves On To Milwaukee in Tournament
Saturday, August 2 2003

Milwaukee, Wis. -- The seventh-seeded Youngstown State men’s basketball team continues play in the Horizon League Tournament on Friday night against third-seed Illinois-Chicago at the U.S. Cellular Arena at 8:30 p.m. The winner advances to play host UW-Milwaukee on Saturday night 8:30.
The Penguins (9-19) enter the quarterfinals after winning 65-61 at UW-Green Bay on Tuesday night snapping a 29-game road losing streak. The triumph was the first-ever postseason victory as a head coach for Coach John Robic.
The win at Green Bay was huge for the Penguins who have been away from Youngstown since Wednesday, Feb. 26. Youngstown State had never won in five previous conference tournament road games since becoming a Division I team in 1981-82.
Now, YSU plays against an Illinois-Chicago (20-7) team that won its last five regular-season games, including a 73-47 victory over the Guins on Saturday in Chicago. YSU played the Flames tight at the Beeghly Center on Jan. 25, losing 78-76 in the final minute. The last team to beat YSU three times in one season was Oral Roberts during the 1999-2000 season.
In other action at the Horizon League Tournament, four-seed Loyola meets fifth-seeded Detroit at 6 p.m. on Friday with the winner playing Butler on Saturday.


Robic Fourth All-Time At YSU in Victories
Coach John Robic is in his fourth season as the head basketball coach at Youngstown State. With a victory over UW-Green Bay he became just the fourth coach in school history to win at least 44 games at YSU. He owns a career mark of 45-69. Robic and his staff -- Eric Skeeters (fourth year), Dolph Carroll (first year) and Ross Burns (first year) -- lead the Penguins in their second year in the Horizon League.

Men's Basketball

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Penguins Outlast UW-Green Bay in Tourney
Saturday, August 2 2003

Green Bay, Wis. -- For the first time in more than two years, the Youngstown State men's basketball team left a road court victorious and the win came at a special moment beating UW-Green Bay 65-61 in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament on Tuesday night at the Resch Center.
Senior Marlon Williamson scored a game-high 22 points and Doug Underwood added 16 as the Penguins (9-19) earned their first-ever victory at Green Bay and snapped a 29-game road losing streak that spanned more than two years. Now, YSU advances to play third-seeded UIC on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. in Milwaukee, Wis., in the quarterfinals of the league tournament.
Head Coach John Robic said his first postseason victory in four tries was a special one.
"I am just happy to keep playing," Robic said. "We played much tougher tonight than we did in the last four games. We were really aggressive defensively and to have 27 offensive rebounds shows how hard we worked."
YSU played tough from the start keeping the game close throughout the first half. At halftime, the game was tied 31-31, a marked improvement from the Feb. 19 game in which Green Bay came out and played well building a 34-24 halftime lead.
Williamson said the team wanted to come out and play well at the beginning. In the game, Williamson made 6 3-pointers while Underwood added three.
"I had a nice touch going and I give credit to Coach for putting the ball in my hand," Williamson said. "Not just to shoot the ball, but to create plays. We needed a boost in the beginning and that is what I provided. We wanted to deliver the first punches of the game and we were able to come out and set the tone."
In the second half, the Penguins stepped their game up.
After trailing by five on two occasions in the second half, YSU rallied. Trailing 47-42 with 13:32 remaining, the Penguins took a 49-48 on Williamson's 3-pointer with 9:56 left and never trailed again.
YSU boosted that lead to its biggest advantage of the game at 63-55 with 2:16 left. But UW-Green Bay came back pulling within 64-61 on a bucket by Terry Parker. But Andy Jahnke converted a free-throw with 20 seconds left to seal the win. Matt Rohde missed two threes in final seconds.
For the game, YSU held a 45-35 lead in rebounding, including a season-best 27 offensive rebounds. YSU shot 37.5 percent (24-of-64) while Green Bay shot 31.5 percent (17-of-54) for the game. UWGB was 24-of-26 from the free-throw line while YSU was 8-of-18.

Men's Basketball

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Penguins Open Tournament Play at Green Bay
Saturday, August 2 2003

The seventh-seeded Youngstown State men’s basketball team opens play in the Horizon League Tournament on Tuesday night playing at sixth-seed UW-Green Bay. Tipoff at the Resch Center is set for 8 p.m. Eastern Time and is one of three Horizon League Tournament games set for Tuesday night. The winner of the YSU-UWGB contest plays No. 3 seed UIC on Friday night in Milwaukee, Wis. Also on Tuesday, No. 9 Cleveland State plays at No. 4 Loyola and No. 8 Wright State is at No. 5 Detroit.
The Penguins finished the regular season 8-19 and were 4-12 in the Horizon League but struggled in the final portion of the season losing their last seven games. YSU’s most recent defeat was a 73-47 setback at Illinois-Chicago on Saturday night. The 47 points were the fewest by the Penguins since scoring just 43 against IUPUI on Jan. 6, 2000.
Youngstown State has lost its last four postseason games, including a season-ending 86-65 loss to Green Bay in the Horizon League Tournament last year. YSU’s last postseason victory came on Feb. 28, 1999 when it defeated Southern Utah in the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament in Moline, Ill.
The contest against the Phoenix is YSU’s first postseason road game since March 4, 1995 at Valparaiso during the Mid-Con Tournament. This year, the Horizon League is playing first-round games at campus sites before moving to Milwaukee.

Games Against Green Bay This Year
YSU and Green Bay split two regular season contests with Youngstown State winning at the Beeghly Center (77-76 on Jan. 29) and Green Bay winning at the Resch Center (59-53 on Feb. 19).
In the game at Youngstown, Doug Underwood scored a career-high 28 points and YSU rallied from down by eight points in the final three minutes to pull out the win on an Adam Baumann basket with 14 seconds remaining.
In the contest at Green Bay, the Phoenix had a huge advantage at the free-throw line making 33-of-47 to just 9-of-16 for YSU in winning by 16 points. UWGB made just one field goal the final 12 minutes and 24 of its final 26 points came from the free-throw line.

Horizon League Tournament
This year’s Horizon League Tournament features three first-round games on campus sites beginning Tuesday before the tournament shifts to Milwaukee, Wis., at the U.S. Cellular Arena.
On Tuesday night, four-seed Loyola plays host to ninth-seed Cleveland State, fifth-seed Detroit plays host to No. 8-seed Wright State and sixth-seed UW-Green Bay plays host to YSU. On Friday in Milwaukee, the winner of the Loyola-Cleveland State contest plays the winner of the Detroit-Wright State game while the winner of the UWGB-YSU game plays UIC.
Butler and Milwaukee, the top two finishers in the league do not play until the semifinal round on Saturday. If the Panthers advance to the final that game will be in Milwaukee, but if UWM is elminated the tournament shifts to the home of the highest-remaining seed for the championship game on Tuesday, March 11.

Men's Basketball

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Baumann, Williamson Earn League Honors
Saturday, August 2 2003

Indianapolis, Ind. -- Junior center Adam Baumann and senior guard Marlon Williamson were among members who earned accolades by the Horizon League, the conference announced on Sunday. Baumann was named to the All-Newcomer Team while Williamson was named to the All-Defensive Team.
Baumann, a 6-8, 235-pound junior from Scottsdale, Ariz., transferred to YSU this season from Yavapai Junior College and finished the regular-season with an impressive six double-doubles. He averaged 12.0 points and 7.9 rebounds on the year. He had a total of 213 rebounds for his first Youngstown State season.
Williamson, a 5-11, 201-pound senior from Detroit, Mich., set the single-season school record with 62 steals this year. He also became the first player in YSU history with more than 100 assists (139) and 50 steals (62) in the same season.
The Penguins return to action on Tuesday night when they play at UW-Green Bay in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament.

FIRST TEAM ALL-LEAGUE
Cedrick Banks, UIC
Seth Doliboa, Wright State
Willie Green, Detroit
Dylan Page, UW-Milwaukee
Clay Tucker, UW-Milwaukee

SECOND TEAM ALL-LEAGUE
David Bailey, Loyola
Martell Bailey, UIC
Joel Cornette, Butler
Brandon Miller, Butler
Armond Williams, UIC

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Willie Green, Detroit
COACH OF THE YEAR: Bruce Pearl, UW-Milwaukee
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Paul McMillan, Loyola

ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
Adam Baumann, Youngstown State
Paul McMillan, Loyola
Modibo Niakate, Cleveland State
Elijah Warren, Detroit
Demetrius Williams, Loyola

ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Pape Badiane, Cleveland State
Joel Cornette, Butler
Brandon Miller, Butler
Clay Tucker, UW-Milwaukee
Marlon Williamson, Youngstown State

Men's Basketball

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UIC Rolls Past Penguins, 73-47 in Finale
Saturday, August 2 2003

Chicago, Ill. -- Junior Doug Underwood scored a game-high 17 points, but the Youngstown State men's basketball team had their lowest point output of the season in a 73-47 loss to UIC at the UIC Pavilion on Saturday night.
With the defeat, YSU (8-19 overall and 4-12 in the Horizon League) ties for sixth place in the Horizon League, but because of the league tiebreakers, the Penguins will have to open the Horizon League Tournament on the road at UW-Green Bay on Tuesday night at the Resch Center.
On Saturday, UIC played a solid game building a nine-point halftime lead and outscored YSU by 17 in the second half. The Flames finish the regular season 20-7 overall and 12-4 in the league. The 20 wins mark the first consecutive 20-win seasons in school history and UIC finishes third in the conference standings.
YSU Head Coach John Robic said the Flames are a good team having won five straight games.
"They are playing very well right now," Robic said. "They have had back-to-back 20-win seasons, and their guards play extremely tough. The scary thing is they are all juniors. Now, we just have to go back and get ready to Tuesday night."
For the game, YSU struggled shooting just 27.8 percent (15-of-54) while the Flames shot 44.8 percent (26-of-58).
Youngstown State was without the services of senior point guard Marlon Williamson for most of the game after he suffered a bruised right heel in the first half. Freshman Jonathan Mends played a career-high 26 minutes.
"It was a great opportunity for Jonathan Mends to get addition minutes," Robic said.
For the Flames, Cedric Banks and Jonathan Schneiderman each scored 14 points while guard Martell Bailey had a career-best 13 assists. Bailey leads the nation in assists per game.
With the defeat, YSU has now lost 29 consecutive road games, just one shy of the school record.
In the regular season, YSU and UW-Green Bay split two meetings with each team winning on the other's home court.
"We are now in a one-and-done situation going to Green Bay," Robic said. "We hope to survive that game and advance to the rest of the tournament in Milwaukee."

Men's Basketball

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Penguins Play Regular-Season Finale at UIC
Saturday, August 2 2003

The Youngstown State men’s basketball team concludes the regular-season portion of its schedule on Saturday when they play at Illinois-Chicago. Tipoff for the Fox Sports Net televised contest at the UIC Pavilion is set for 7:06 p.m. Eastern time.
Youngstown State (8-18 overall and 4-11 in the Horizon League) has lost six straight games and is coming off its worst loss of the season losing 86-52 at Detroit on Thursday night. The Penguins have now lost 28 straight on the road following the defeat.
Currently, YSU is tied with UW-Green Bay in the league standings for sixth place. The Penguins and Phoenix will play in the first round of the league tournament, however a YSU win over UIC and a Phoenix loss to Wright State will give the Penguins a game at the Beeghly Center on March 4. A YSU loss or Green Bay win means the game will be at the Resch Center.
Illinois-Chicago (19-7 and 11-4) enters the game after a thrilling 66-64 win at crosstown rival Loyola on Thursday night. Aaron Carr hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Flames have now clinched a third-place finish in the Horizon League standings.
The Penguins have never beaten the Flames losing all seven all-time contests. Earlier this year, YSU played the Flames tough losing 78-76 at the Beeghly Center on a 3-pointer by Cedrick Banks in the final minute.

Scouting the UIC Flames
UIC will be going for its first-ever back-to-back 20-win seasons when it plays host to Youngstown on Saturday. The Flames won 20 games last year and have 19 victories this season.
UIC has defended its home turf well this season posting an 11-2 record at the UIC Pavilion with the two losses coming to Butler and Detroit. Over the past two years, the Flames are 22-4.
Leading the team offensively is Cedrick Banks who is averaging 19.9 points per game. Banks is one of five players who average double figures for the Flames.
As a team, UIC is averaging 75.5 points and 37.7 rebounds per game. UIC is tough on the boards owning a rebound margin of 4.9 per contest.
UIC is coached by Jimmy Collins who is 105-99 in his seventh year.

Earlier This Year vs. UIC
Illinois-Chicago's Cedrick Banks nailed a game-winning three-pointer with 33 seconds left to give the Flames a 78-76 victory over YSU on Jan. 25 at the Beeghly Center.
TeJay Anderson led the Penguins with a career day, setting personal highs with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Doug Underwood scored a career-high 26 points and was 6-of-7 from behind the three-point arc. Banks finished with a game-high 29 points for the Flames.
The Penguins grabbed a seven-point lead at 65-58 with just over 10 minutes remaining, but UIC scored the next six points to pull within one at the 9:07 mark and tied the game for the fourth time at 66 with 7:51 remaining.
Anderson tipped-in his own miss to give the Penguins a one-point advantage with 1:42 remaining in regulation. The Flames' defense held the Penguins scoreless the rest of the way and the offense capitalized on a YSU turnover to set up Banks' game-winner.